October 30, 1925 — March 19, 2025 

Leroy Ozanne was a pioneer black contractor in an era and a region that were often inhospitable. He possessed an inbred confidence that no doubt stemmed at least in part from his ability to trace his family lineage from 13^th century France down through 18^th century New Orleans and an area known as French Louisiana to modern-day Cleveland. That confidence, fortified by a heavy dose of stubbornness, led him to become one of Greater Cleveland’s most successful contractors.

Ozanne died March 19 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 99.

Leroy Ozanne was born October 30, 1925, in Beaumont, Texas, the second of eight children. After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1946, Ozanne came to Cleveland, where he attended Fenn College and John Carroll University.

He became one of Cleveland’s first African American building inspectors, where he began to develop relationships with builders, architects, engineers, and city officials. After he started winning small commercial construction contracts in the early 1950s, Leroy decided to expand this side work into a fulltime business, and Ozanne Construction Company Inc. was born in 1956.

After more than a decade in business, the company’s hard-won successes led to a joint venture with Turner Construction in 1967 to build the Martin Luther King Jr. commercial plaza on Wade Park Ave. It was the first such relationship between an African American construction firm and an international construction manager in American history.

Ozanne went on to partner with other major national firms in commercial construction and multifamily housing, again one of the first black contractors in the country to do so.

Ozanne Construction was the first black company in Northeast Ohio to work as a union general contractor in commercial construction. The company was affiliated with the Associated General Contractors of America, Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council, Construction Employers Association, and National Association of Minority Contractors. Ozanne was named to the Halls of Fame of the latter two organizations. He led the company’s expansion into other states (New York, Georgia, and Louisiana).

Ozanne projects have received regional and national awards and Leroy’s and the company’s success helped pave the way for many other minority businesses in the field.

Fred Perkins, who started a contracting firm with his three brothers and later built a general contracting company that rivaled Ozanne Construction in scope and size, credited Leroy Ozanne with paving the way for many black contractors.

"I stood on many shoulders growing our business, none sturdier than Leroy's. I learned a lot from him. He set the tone and the rhythm for all of us."  

Ozanne Construction’s history now spans almost seventy years, with a footprint that has expanded over the years to New York Georgia, Louisiana. The company is now beginning its third generation of family leadership.

Leroy met Betty Jean Peyton in 1951, and they married the next year in St. Edward Catholic Church in Cleveland. The newlyweds welcomed their first two children, Dominic and Mark, and bought a home in Cleveland’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in 1956, and joined St. Cecilia Parish.

Leroy and Betty Jean Ozanne

As the company grew, so did the family with the birth of Lisa and Geoffrey. Leroy, Betty and their four children moved to Shaker Heights in 1967, where they joined St. Dominic Parish. The family faced challenging times as one of the first black families in the parish, and they struggled to gain acceptance by the parish community.

Both Leroy and Betty became active in the Catholic Interracial Council, representing the Parish in the Diocesan-wide group. They remained faithful members of St. Dominic Parish until their relocation to Scottsdale, Arizona in 2014.

Leroy was preceded in death by Betty and their son Geoffrey. Survivors include his daughter, Lisa; two sons, Dominic [Gaile] and Mark [Paula]; two sisters, Daisy Tubbs and Patsy Harris; six grandchildren, Dominic II, Monique (Timothy Davis), Olivia, Joshua, Andrew (Candice), Matthew (Holly); and four great-grandchildren Vincente and Santino Davis and Isabella and Sophia Ozanne.

A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, April 5th, 2025, at 11a in The Church of St. Dominic, 19000 Van Aken Blvd [44122].  The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service. The service will be live streamed via this link. Interment will be in Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Church of St. Dominic, 3450 Norwood Road [44122].

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This article was updated March 27, 2025 @ 1950 to reflect an additional acknowledgment of Ozanne's pioneering role as a black contractor.